Name/Title
112, Painted Car, IGGY the Igniter, Sarah GishTags
2024, ***, =Description
1st-Painted- 2022-LoveIgnites(other car)
"IGGY the Igniter is the fourth car that has been the mascot for my IGNITE YOUR LIFE! art project that I started in 2013 and the 6th art car I have made since 2003.
Everything on my cars is carefully thought out and has meaning. My second car for the project, PHOENIX RISING Art Car, was born out of my HUBBA HUBBA art car catching on fire in Phoenix, AZ! So the story of the Phoenix bird has been central to my creations. The cars following PHOENIX RISING were also Phoenixes. The LOVE IGNITES! mobile was a re-working of PHOENIX RISING because I felt she needed a new identity that would closer align with my vision for honoring my brother. That car won First Place in the Art Car Parade 2022.
IGGY rose from her ""ashes"" because I sadly totaled LOVE IGNITES! on the exact 9-year anniversary of the PHOENIX RISING car fire.
I started making art cars because I'd been around the Orange Show since the 1990s -- volunteering and doing workshops and going to events (I won the "Lucille Ball Look-a-Like" contest once -- my competition was a dog...). I took my family and friends and kids to art car events but never felt I could make an art car because I wasn't a "real" artist. But after totaling a car, I was gifted a 1995 Toyota Tercel and in 2003, I turned that into my first art car. It didn't live long (less than a year) but I was HOOKED! I have loved making art cars ever since.
I've gotten braver with each car and I honestly think IGGY is my best one because I did it on my own -- most of my cars have been made in community. I used some art pieces by friends that were on my other cars but everything else has been my own hand.
As for Art Car Week, I'm excited about EVERYTHING. I love those 10 days. I'm really excited to see all the art car artists and to welcome the new people and to be together with my HACK Houston friends. It's a great celebration and I mark it off on my calendar every year so that it's the only thing I do!
